


Monotonic

by PartridgeOnAPearTree



Series: Transversal [22]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: M/M, Night Terrors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 15:30:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6710794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PartridgeOnAPearTree/pseuds/PartridgeOnAPearTree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You do know that there's something wrong about this, don't you?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Monotonic

**Author's Note:**

> I've been having a lot of unsettling dreams recently //cries at everyone//  
> I love you guys
> 
> Also, heh, I wrote something nsfw AND not angst recently for Komaeda's birthday, though it wasn't really a birthday fic. Do check it out! :D http://archiveofourown.org/works/6682267
> 
> My ask box is still open for kinky AND/OR despair-inducing prompts, but I hope you guys know that I won't be able to get to them right away, and I'll only do five for now, hihii, it's my first time accepting prompts, after all! I need two more aaa pls send me some! <3

_Doesn’t this… feel kind of wrong?_

 

It wasn’t the first time that that particular thought crossed Komaeda’s mind. He remembers quite well the first time he had that thought—it was a few months back when Naegi requested him to not talk to his classmates anymore, especially Hinata.

 

But Komaeda understands.

 

Naegi said that he was jealous of Hinata, and even if Komaeda knows that there's no reason for him to feel that way—Hinata’s just nothing but a close friend, after all—he supposes that it’s a small thing to do in comparison to everything that Naegi has done for him.

 

It’s true that he used to crush on Hinata, but that was all done in the year previous. The time when Hinata confided in Komaeda for the first time about the person that he likes was when Komaeda decided that it would be the greatest option if he just becomes the best supportive friend that he's capable of being, as insignificant as he is.

 

So Komaeda decides to grant Naegi’s request. After all, it’s his fault—being so inadequate—why Naegi’s feeling that way anyway. If only he could express his feelings better, Naegi wouldn’t have to be jealous of anyone in his class.

 

The second time Komaeda felt like something is kind of wrong is when Naegi asked him to choose between himself and Hinata. Komaeda won’t really know what to say if someone asks him why that felt wrong, but one thing that he's sure about is when he said out loud that he chose Naegi, it left an uncomfortable feeling within his chest.

 

Komaeda knows that he really will be willing to do anything for Naegi. He even already said before that he’d die for the other if need be. That’s why it already goes without saying that Komaeda really will choose him above everyone… even including his best friend.

 

Still, it felt wrong to say it out loud and actually explicitly think it.

 

But Komaeda understands that too.

 

After all, again, it’s his fault too. There's something wrong with the way he's expressing his affection. For all he knows, he probably doesn’t look sincere enough, and that’s why Naegi found the need to ask him something like that. If only Komaeda seemed more reliable, Naegi wouldn’t have to bring up that kind of question.

 

The third time he felt like something is kind of wrong is when Naegi told him that Hinata didn’t want to be his best friend anymore. That statement wasn’t really strange on its own—after all, it’s a plausible thing to happen, for someone to not want to associate with Komaeda anymore. But what makes it feel wrong was when Komaeda asked Hinata about it, and Hinata spoke words of disagreement with emotions so raw, emotions that can’t possibly be forced.

 

But again, Komaeda understands.

 

There must have been a misunderstanding that someone as worthless as Komaeda couldn’t recognize. Actually, that’s the perfect explanation for that whole situation. Everything was nothing but a mere misunderstanding. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Naegi most probably didn’t aim to mislead. He just, in all honesty, misunderstood something. It was just a sincere and innocent mistake on his part. Everyone makes mistakes, even someone as superior as Naegi, so Komaeda should just do his best to understand.

 

This one is Komaeda’s fault too anyway. He was the one who brought up the topic of Hinata being cold to him recently, and he must have worried Naegi so much with that sentiment. He must have forced Naegi into an internal panic, causing the latter to desperately pull on any explanation that he has available, because that’s the kind of person he is—always readily helpful, always readily kind, even to someone like Komaeda.

 

The fourth time was when Komaeda finally asked Naegi about what Hinata apparently said. Despite already concluding that there must have been a misunderstanding, Komaeda still couldn’t just let it rest, after all, and he still wants the complete explanation. There's nothing wrong with just asking on its own, but that time, when Naegi accused Komaeda of doubting of him, Komaeda would be lying if he didn’t say that he felt horrible inside.

 

He was scared that time.

 

Naegi still had his usual smile, but Komaeda knows that he got mad. Komaeda isn’t sure if the feeling of something wrong was caused by something else or if it’s just because he was able to anger someone who's obviously so kind.

 

That moment, and up until the present time, his conclusion was the latter.

 

But Komaeda still understands.

 

It’s a normal thing to get mad. Even the kindest people can get mad, after all. Naegi says that Komaeda is the most important person in his life, so he must have been hurt and angry that Komaeda made him feel like he's being doubted.

 

After all, he himself said it. Naegi said that he would never ever doubt Komaeda.

 

So this one is Komaeda’s fault too. He must have been unfair to Naegi. If only he were better than he is, maybe he would have understood the situation better. He wouldn’t have to ask the stupid question that caused someone great like Naegi to get upset.

 

And the fifth time—

 

The fifth time felt so straightforwardly wrong. Naegi asked him to tell Hinata something that isn’t true. And what made it even worse is that Komaeda complied.

 

Komaeda doesn’t understand.

 

He doesn’t understand why he agreed and why Naegi asked him to do something like that in the first place. Doing what Naegi wanted felt automatic that time, even if he feels like there's something unmistakably wrong about the whole deal.

 

He guesses, at that moment, he didn’t want Naegi to get mad. He didn’t want Naegi to be upset. He didn’t want Naegi to be disappointed in him. He didn’t want to break Naegi’s evident trust in him. After all, the fact that Naegi did that just shows that he wholly trusts Komaeda, right?

 

Maybe there's just something that he's missing here. Maybe, just like that one certain time, there's something that he's misunderstanding. Maybe there's something that someone like him can’t even begin to comprehend because it’s a matter on a completely different level.

 

Or maybe, somehow, this matter is his fault too just like the previous situations.

 

He wanted to ask Naegi about it. He wanted Naegi to elaborate, but he's so, so worried and scared that if he does, Naegi will get mad at him again.

 

He doesn’t want Naegi to get mad.

 

Naegi is the closest person to Komaeda, after all, and if Naegi decides to leave him, Komaeda will not have anyone left anymore. He has taken his classmates for granted, taken Hinata for granted, not really hanging out—not even talking that one time—with them anymore in favor of Naegi.

 

Komaeda will have nowhere to go anymore if Naegi decides to leave him.

 

Komaeda won’t be able to cope if that happens.

 

\--

 

‘ _Komaeda-kun, I want you to sleep here in my dorm room tonight. I think Hinata-kun is going to return to your shared room already. If you encounter him on the way, don’t talk to him. He's just going to lie to you. You have to believe me._ ’

 

‘ _Come quickly._ ’

 

So even if Komaeda doesn’t understand anything, even if everything feels wrong, he decides to pocket his phone and comply once again.

 

\--

 

As soon as Komaeda arrives in the dorm room, Naegi greets him with a tight hug. Komaeda closes his eyes, immediately hugging back, and he briefly wishes this to last forever. This way, he wouldn’t have to think too much about the things that he doesn’t understand, about the confusing things that make him uncomfortable when he stays too long thinking about them, about this whole… situation.

 

“I'm so glad you're here, Komaeda-kun.” Naegi speaks softly, his embrace tightening. “I have things to explain to you. I'm so sorry for asking you to come here on such short notice.”

 

“No, it’s alright…” Komaeda was supposed to tighten his hug too, but Naegi finally pulls away, so he just lets out a small smile. “I have things to ask too… if that’s okay.”

 

“Of course, but you really have to hear me out first, Komaeda-kun.” Naegi reaches to him and holds his hand. “I’m so scared and worried that you might possibly misunderstand this situation and end up hating me. I don’t think I’ll be able to live with that thought.”

 

“I could never hate you, Naegi-kun.” Komaeda holds the hand holding his with his free hand. “I’ll listen to you. Don’t worry.”

 

“Thank you.” Naegi smiles. It was his usual smile that seems to be filled with so much kindness and warmth. Komaeda already feels bad for even contemplating that something is wrong in the first place. “I knew that I could always count on you. Thank you so much, really.”

 

“You shouldn’t thank me, Naegi-kun.” Komaeda caresses their hands. “I'm not even doing half of everything you did for me…”

 

“Don’t say that now. As I said, you don’t have to think about having to repay me. Your happiness is already enough. Anyway,” Naegi sighs. “It’s about what happened just earlier… I have to apologize for pulling you to that situation.”

 

“It’s okay…” Komaeda wonders if it really is. “It’s just… greatly confusing? I feel like I have a lot of things that I don’t understand at the moment…”

 

“Right. That’s why I called you here.” Naegi bites his lower lip. “I asked you to lie for me… That’s why it wouldn’t be a surprise if you're suspicious of me right now. I didn’t want that to happen, so I really couldn’t wait for another day… I feel like I have to clarify things now.”

 

“…I admit I was really taken aback, but it’s okay. If it’s Naegi-kun, I'm sure there's an explanation that someone of my level wasn’t able to formulate.”

 

“Don’t talk about yourself that way, Komaeda-kun.” Naegi frowns. “Anyway… That was a mistake on my part. I shouldn’t have asked you to do that. See, I was feeling so cornered and confused myself—I swear I was panicking in the inside—so I made a rushed and bad decision… See, Hinata-kun was acting so weird earlier… He kept on insisting that you gave me a pen and that I lent that pen to him, but I swear I don’t know what he was talking about! Please believe me.”

 

“It’s alright, I believe you.” Komaeda nods. “Right, he asked me about that pen too when he got home in the dorm. I also… didn’t know what he was talking about.”

 

“Thank you so much for understanding. I was really worried.” Naegi bites his lower lip again. “So then I thought that maybe if I just say yes that you really did give me a pen, he would finally decide to give it a rest and just go home… but then when I did, he suddenly started insisting that you didn’t really give me a pen at all! I was so confused, Komaeda-kun. I didn’t know what to do. I hope you forgive me.”

 

“No, no, it’s okay… but that really is strange. Do you want me to talk to Hinata-kun?”

 

“No, don’t. I want to settle this myself. I already bothered you so much.” Naegi sighs. “I'm so sorry, Komaeda-kun. I really should have thought this through better. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

 

“No, it’s alright, I understand…” Komaeda nods. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Naegi-kun. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

“Thank you.” Naegi promptly plants a kiss on his cheek. “Anyway, do you want to transfer to the bed so that we’re both comfortable? I have more things to discuss with you.”

 

“Oh, alright. I don’t mind either way, but I do want Naegi-kun to be more comfortable.”

 

Naegi lets Komaeda climb the bunk bed first, and Komaeda gets the brief thought that he might fall off the ladder because of his stupidity. He guesses that he's being overly worried though—he wonders why because it’s not like it’s the first time he has climbed to Naegi’s bed anyway.

 

They sit comfortably on the bed after that, and Komaeda decides to just wait for Naegi to say something first instead of him.

 

“Anyway,” Naegi clears his throat, smiling a bit at him. “I myself don’t understand why Hinata-kun is acting the way he does… so before I find out, I hope you don’t mind if I request that you don’t talk to him until then. I'm really, really scared and worried about the lies he might tell you. I hope you understand, Komaeda-kun.”

 

“Oh… If that’s what Naegi-kun wants, then I’ll do it, but… are you sure it’s not a good idea for me to try talking to him too?”

 

“I said I want to do it myself, alright?” Naegi reaches out and briefly squeezes his hand. “You don’t have to bother yourself with this mess that I created… I promise I’ll fix this without troubling you any further. I'm sorry.”

 

“It’s not a problem, Naegi-kun…”

 

“Thank you. You're the best.” Naegi smiles at him. “Anyway, I promise I’ll make it up to you. Tomorrow, after school, I plan to go to my parents’ house with you already, if that’s okay with you.”

 

“A-Already?” Komaeda suddenly felt like his feet was pulled from below because of this surprise. “I mean, right, now that I think about it, we did agree that it would be this weekend… but I'm not yet mentally prepared. To be honest, I'm… really worried.”

 

“Why?” Naegi frowns, squeezing his hand again. “Someone like you has nothing to worry about, Komaeda-kun. You're really amazing, see… and besides, I already told you that they would love to meet you too, right?”

 

“Yeah… I was trying to reassure myself. I even said something about doing my best to make a good impression, at least…” Komaeda bites his lower lip. “But I realized that that’s just impudence on my part, right?”

 

“Really, Komaeda-kun?” Naegi sighs. “You're so lovely, I can’t even start describing how much… I know. Do you want to talk to my mother or my father right now? Or maybe Komaru, at least? Would that help convince you that they're looking forward to meeting you too?”

 

“W-What?” Komaeda feels slight panic within him. “I mean, I can’t! As I said, I'm not mentally prepared for tomorrow… What more at the moment? I’ll just make fun of myself in front of them, and they'd feel so bad that their son is with someone like me…”

 

“Komaeda-kun,” Naegi cups Komaeda’s face with his hands. “Listen to me.”

 

Komaeda nods. “I'm sorry for being troublesome.”

 

“No, no, look.” Naegi smiles. It was so warm, Komaeda oddly felt like he wanted to cry a bit. “I love you. You're very important to me. I need you here by my side. Things wouldn’t be the same if you're not around… Did you know that?”

 

“Yeah… You always tell me these kind words, and I believe you wholeheartedly, Naegi-kun. I guess I just… really have a hard time putting my trust on myself.” Komaeda lets out a forced chuckle. “I'm nothing compared to you. The idea of meeting your family and them hating me like I deserve is too plausible of a possibility. I am prepared, yes, if that is to happen, but… I think it still would hurt, haha.”

 

“They have no reason to hate someone as great as you.” Naegi leans his forehead against Komaeda’s. “Okay, I have an idea… Do you want to read my mother’s texts to me when I sent her your photo? You'll only read. If you see something that makes you uncomfortable, you can stop anytime. Is that okay?”

 

Komaeda’s still nervous even with that good suggestion. It’s a wonder how Naegi still hasn’t given up on him. It’s not like Komaeda doesn’t know how frustrating his own self is. “Okay… Thank you so much, Naegi-kun. I'm so sorry you had to deal with me being like this.”

 

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Naegi taps his phone’s screen a couple of times before handing it to Komaeda. “There you go. Just hand it back to me anytime you want.”

 

Komaeda gulps, deciding to pull himself together. His nervousness grows even more as he starts to read. He could have sworn his heart legitimately touched his ribcage for a moment with how fast it’s going. He's being so ridiculous, he recognizes. He can’t believe that his heart is picking up its speed with the mere thought of reading some messages about himself.

 

<Hi, mother :)>

 

/Makoto! How have you been? We really miss you here!/

 

<I’ve been okay. How about you and father and Komaru? I really miss you all too.>

 

/You're as sweet as ever, my son!

Same old, same old! Both your father and I are working really hard at work, and Komaru too is studying really hard. When will you come to visit?/

 

<I actually plan to visit this weekend. That’s why I texted you so that you'd be notified :) I thought it would be a good idea too if I go as a surprise, but I think that can possibly cause unwanted trouble.>

 

/It’s just like you to think so responsibly. Your father and I really are so proud of you, Makoto. Do you plan to stay the whole weekend?/

 

<If it’s possible, yes :) There's someone coming with me too. I really want you guys to meet him.>

 

/Oh, a friend? I wouldn’t be surprised! You’ve always been surrounded with a lot of friends ever since you were a little child./

 

<Not just a friend. He's my lover, and he's very special to me :) His name is Komaeda Nagito-kun.>

 

Komaeda finds himself calming down a bit.

 

/So you’ve found a lover already. Time really flies fast. So how is he like?/

 

<He's perfect, mother. His presence has this soothing effect that I can’t explain. He's very attractive too.>

 

He feels heat creeping to his face as he reads that, and he looks up from the phone to see Naegi. Naegi was smiling at him knowingly, as if wordlessly telling him to continue reading. It’s not like it’s the first time Naegi said those words about him, but he supposes that there's a different effect somehow if they're said to another person…

 

Komaeda’s feeling really flattered now…

 

/He sounds nice. I know that you pick well, so I don’t doubt that what you're saying is true. Can you send a picture?/

 

<Hold on :)>

 

Naegi did send a picture after that message. Komaeda starts to feel embarrassed when he sees which photo it was. It’s a picture taken during one of the numerous times they spent time in the rooftop. There's nothing really bad about the photo when he saw it right after it was taken—if anything, the lighting is actually good because it’s natural sunlight, and Komaeda’s actually pretty proud of how he looks in it. He was just showing a peace sign at the camera like anyone would, but now that it was shown to Naegi’s mother, he starts to question if the photo was actually good enough.

 

He's not questioning the way Naegi shot it.

 

He's questioning if he himself looks decent enough.

 

/That’s him? Well, I shouldn’t be too surprised considering what kind of school Hope’s Peak is. Is he a model or something similar? I think I can remember Komaru mentioning that you have a model in your class, after all. You too go really well together! You're both really lovely!/

 

Komaeda can’t see himself, but he's willing to bet money that he's actually blushing at the moment. “…Your mother thinks I look like a model?”

 

Naegi nods at him happily. “You're attractive enough to be one anyway. See? She thinks you're beautiful.”

 

<I understand why you'd get that idea, but no, Komaeda-kun is not a model. He does look like one though, huh? Also, he's not from my class. He's an upperclassman, actually. A year ahead of me :) And maybe you know the model in my class, mother. She's all over the magazines, after all. She's Enoshima Junko.>

 

/Oh, so what is he? An actor then? And how did you two meet each other if he's an upperclassman? I guess my son really is friendly enough to befriend even people not in his class.

Also, yes! I remember reading her name from a magazine I'm subscribed to!/

 

<His talent is having good luck. I swear, it’s really amazing. Maybe we can play a friendly game of poker together with father too so you guys will see how great his luck is :)

We stumbled upon each other a lot in the school corridors, and of course, I got attracted to him. I approached him when I felt I had to :)>

 

/His talent sounds unique. I'm really curious now too.

By the way, Komaru wants to tell you that she agreed that Komaeda-kun is good-looking.

I'm really proud that you did that! Most people will get intimidated when talking to a person they find attractive./

 

<Please tell Komaru that I miss her :)>

 

/She says she misses you too! What sweet siblings.

Anyway, tell me more about Komaeda-kun. Is he the type that you'd want to marry?/

 

<Haha, that’s a really embarrassing question. But yes, in my head, we’re already married :)>

 

Komaeda wonders if it would be weird to feel like crying in happiness by just reading text messages about himself.

 

/Aww, my Makoto is all grown-up and sweet. I really can’t wait to meet Komaeda-kun! I want to see the person that was able to make my son this happy. I like him already for making you feel that way! What's his particular quality that made you think that?

Also, I told your dad about Komaeda-kun and showed him the picture, and he's really excited to meet Komaeda-kun now too.

But wait, do you really call him Komaeda-kun? Not Nagito-kun, at least?/

 

Nagito-kun.

 

Just the thought of Naegi calling him that already made Komaeda’s heart skip a beat. It would be too much of good luck for him if ever the two of them start to shift to first name basis. It would be an honor too big… but it’s something that he wouldn’t refuse if it comes, no matter how impudent that is.

 

<I like how his presence relaxes me. I think I’d love it if he’d be with me forever. I need him in my life :) This might sound too cheesy, and I already told him this before, but I think he's my lucky charm. I know I’ll be able to do great things if he's with me.

And haha, this is embarrassing. I have the nerve to think about marriage, yet I still can’t call him by his first name! Maybe soon. I have to gather my courage :)>

 

Komaeda never did quite understand why Naegi views him that highly. Always saying something about how he’ll never achieve his full potential if Komaeda weren’t around, how his presence guarantees the best results, how he's needed to make Naegi’s dreams come true…

 

He's sure that Naegi’s already competent enough—someone like Komaeda won’t be needed anymore—but the fact that Naegi thinks he is needed does cheer him up.

 

/I feel so moved. I'm really happy that you found someone who makes you feel that way.

Good luck with that! I'm sure you can do it!

Anyway, does Komaeda-kun have a particular favorite food? I want to know so that we can prepare it for him./

 

<I noticed that he's pretty fond of salty food, but as far as I know, there's no specific one. As for dessert, he really likes viva ice :)>

 

/Sounds like you really know him well. You can count on us, Makoto. We’ll stock up on viva ice and the best salty food we know!/

 

<Thank you, mother :)>

 

That was the end of Naegi’s conversation with his mother. Reading it left Komaeda’s chest warm somehow, and he can’t stop himself from smiling as he hands the phone back to Naegi. Naegi was smiling too, and he reaches forward to plant a kiss on Komaeda’s forehead.

 

Naegi whispers. “I hope that lessened your worry, at least.”

 

“It did.” Komaeda whispers back. “Thank you so much, Naegi-kun.”

 

Right now, it felt like doing Naegi’s request would be easy. Earlier, it felt wrong that he had to avoid Hinata again, but now that he thinks about it, again, that’s just a small thing compared to everything that Naegi has done for him. Besides, he has done it before, so of course, he can do it now again.

 

So he decides to comply with the best of his abilities.

 

He's pretty sure that this is temporary anyway.

 

\--

 

There were Naegi’s parents and sister, all sitting on a plain and rather huge bed, and for some reason, Komaeda is sitting with them on the same bed too. He doesn’t understand what that is—he can’t believe that he’d be as impudent as to sit on the same bed as them. He should never dare to dirty the place on which they sleep with his body.

 

“Nagito-kun, you really look like a model.” Naegi’s mother smiles warmly at him, reaching a hand towards him and running her fingers through his hair. Komaeda smiles back a bit—he can imagine what the blush on his face looks like at the moment—as he practically leans towards the touch. Naegi’s mother thinking that he's attractive already is a miracle on its own, so her thinking that he can pass off as a model is too good for him already. “You're a really lovely boy. I'm happy that Makoto has ended up with you.”

 

“Thank you so much…”

 

Naegi’s father lets out a loud laugh. “And I heard that you make our boy really happy too! No wonder he wants to marry you! Time flies so fast!”

 

The fingers threading through his hair continue, and he lets out a giggle. “I'm happy being with him too… He makes me so happy, really.”

 

“Here’s viva ice, Nagito-oniichan.” Komaru hands him a bowl with a small spoon. Komaeda notices that the spoon has a red mark on the end, and Komaru immediately smiles at him when she notices that he saw. “Looks like the serving you got is a winning one! Onii-chan was right. You really are lucky!”

 

“Haha, my luck is the only thing that I can be a little proud of, at least. Thank you. If you want, you can have the other one?”

 

“Anyway, Nagito-kun,” Naegi’s mother speaks again, and he turns his attention back at her. “You really are attractive… You must have inherited your looks from your parents, huh? We want to meet them too as soon as possible.”

 

“Ah, well, about that…” Komaeda sheepishly lets out a chuckle. “My parents unfortunately died because of an accident when I was younger.”

 

“Oh.” Naegi’s father was the one who responded. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he was wearing a sad frown. “Are you sure? But isn’t that your father behind you?”

 

“Huh…?”

 

Komaeda does turn around because of that.

 

Suddenly, he's lying down on the bed on his side, his back pressed against a wall, and directly in front of him was his father’s corpse. His father’s white hair was disheveled, almost as if it were a mannequin’s tangled wig, and his gray eyes were open but quite lifeless… reminding Komaeda of a mannequin too.

 

Komaeda doesn’t know why he hasn’t moved away yet.

 

Komaeda doesn’t know why he can’t stop staring either.

 

Maybe it’s because his back is against a wall.

 

Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since he has actually seen his father.

 

Maybe it’s because his father’s eyes almost look like glassy beads at this angle, like one wrong move will cause them to go rolling off his eye sockets anytime soon.

 

His father’s skin looks like ceramic, and he doesn’t understand why he reached out, caressing his father’s cheek.

 

That was when he realizes that it wasn’t a corpse, after all.

 

It was indeed a mannequin, as it looks like. He feels like a fool for even thinking that it was a corpse for a second since it straightforwardly doesn’t even look like one. He runs a hand through the white hair that turns out to be nothing but rough thread, and he retracts his hand shortly, only to see that some of the strands came off.

 

He notices that the mannequin looked filthy, now looking at it more closely. It’s true that this isn’t really his father, nothing but an imitation, but it looks so much like the real deal that Komaeda actually felt slightly bad letting it be this dirty.

 

He takes out a handkerchief from his jacket’s pocket—weird, he never was the type to keep handkerchiefs around—and he gently wipes the mannequin’s face with it. As he continues, some of the color of the mannequin rubs off, so he stops, realizing that he just made it worse.

 

He really can’t do anything right.

 

He just wanted to do something nice, yet he still messed up like he always does.

 

The color continues melting off the face, and what happened next caused Komaeda to scoot backwards even more rather harshly, his back hitting the wall almost painfully.

 

The mannequin’s face has blood on it now, and its ceramic skin doesn’t… look quite ceramic anymore. It looks like chopped off skin, and his father looked barely recognizable, but for some reason, his lifeless gray eyes still stood out.

 

It felt like they were staring straight at Komaeda as more of the skin falls off.

 

Komaeda realizes that it was a corpse, after all.

 

He looks at his hands. They're covered with blood now too, and he badly wants to get up from the bed, but he can’t even lift his body. His own fingers were shortening, as if they too are rotting like his father’s face, and he lets out a scream when his father speaks.

 

“Nagito… You do know that there's something wrong about this, don’t you?”

 

He doesn’t understand why he screamed.

 

\--

 

“Komaeda-kun, Komaeda-kun,” Komaeda’s eyes shoot open. He was breathing erratically, and he can feel wetness at the corners of his eyes. He realizes that his own hair are sticking to his forehead too because of sweat, and there was a hand softly running through his hair, another holding his hand firmly. “Komaeda-kun?”

 

Komaeda blinks.

 

His surroundings start to make sense.

 

There was Naegi looking down at him, a hint of worry mixed with slight panic on his face. Naegi lets out a sigh of relief when they make eye contact, and he smiles a bit shortly, though the worry still doesn’t quite disappear from his face.

 

“I'm so glad you're awake now…” Naegi speaks softly. His voice feels like gentle lull to Komaeda’s ears. “It looks like you were having a really bad dream.”

 

“Yeah…” Komaeda still has a hard time relaxing his breathing. “…But it wasn’t anything too bad. I think I'm just overreacting.”

 

“You can talk to me about it.” Naegi squeezes his hand. “Please stop disregarding what you feel, Komaeda-kun. I care about your comfort.”

 

“Haha, I'm sorry…” Komaeda promptly reaches up and wipes his tears. He doesn’t even understand why there are tears present. “…I don’t even understand what happened in my dream. I don’t know what to say exactly, Naegi-kun.”

 

“Just tell me what you saw, maybe? Or whatever happened that made you uncomfortable?”

 

“It’s alright… Don’t worry anymore, Naegi-kun.” Komaeda lets out a small smile. “It wasn’t even a realistic dream at all. I promise I'm just overreacting.”

 

“Tell me anyway.” Naegi dips down and presses his lips on Komaeda’s forehead. “I'm here for you, Komaeda-kun.”

 

“Alright…” Komaeda nods. “I'm really sorry for the bother.”

 

\--

 

Komaeda doesn’t know why merely talking to Naegi about his troubles makes him feel like they got alleviated right away.

 

\--

 

“Ah, right, Komaeda-kun, I forgot to tell you.” Naegi says after a long silence. After Komaeda has calmed down, they just sat on Naegi’s bed, their backs against the wall, leaning against each other. Komaeda hums, prompting Naegi to continue speaking. “I broke your phone’s sim card.”

 

“…Excuse me?”

 

“Haha, you heard me correctly.” Naegi smiles. “You don’t mind, right?”

 

“Well… Not really, but… I kinda don’t understand…”

 

“I woke up because an unknown number was calling your phone and sending you spam, so I broke your sim card. Who knows what those people might do to you when they track you or something, right? I heard from Kirigiri-san that some groups of people have started to do that recently—track people whose sim cards are subscribed to postpaid credit, I mean. They must think that most people who subscribe to those promos have money to spare, at least.” Naegi’s smile turns sheepish. “Sorry. I should have consulted you first, huh? I was just overtaken by fear earlier...”

 

“Ah, well, don’t worry too much...” Komaeda smiles too as an effort to reassure Naegi. “It wouldn’t be difficult to buy a new one anyway.”

 

“Thank you… haha, I was really scared that you'd get mad. I'm so happy that you're so considerate.” Naegi sighs. “Also… there's another thing that I did wrong.”

 

“Oh… What is it?” Komaeda asks. “Don’t worry too much about it, Naegi-kun. I'm sure it’s nothing too bad whatever it is.”

 

“Haha, well, as I was trying to delete the messages of the unknown number, I accidentally reformatted the whole phone instead…” Naegi looks down, shame on his face. “…Now your phone is actually empty.”

 

“Ah… I guess that’s alright. It’s not like I had important stuff saved anyway.” Komaeda leans closer against Naegi’s side. “We have quite a lot of photos there though… What a waste. But I guess we should just take new ones then.”

 

“Oh, you know, I think we both got lucky.” Naegi lets out a chuckle. “I noticed that your wallpaper was a picture of us, so I actually got distracted initially from deleting the messages from the unknown number right off the bat. So I actually passed our pictures to my phone before accidentally deleting everything… I'm really sorry for the trouble, but I'm happy to say that I have the photos with me, at least.”

 

“Wow, you're right, that’s really lucky.” Komaeda lets out a chuckle. “Those pictures are probably the most important part of my phone. I'm happy they were saved, at least.”

 

Naegi smiles. “I'm happy too.”

 

\--

 

Naegi insisted to go with Komaeda on the way to his classroom.

 

Hinata was already there—he looked like he was waiting for Komaeda to arrive, and Komaeda doesn’t really understand why he felt slightly guilty because of that—and he didn’t look exactly thrilled when he saw Naegi. Komaeda badly wants to know what really is going on, but he supposes that right now, he should just let Hinata and Naegi settle this themselves.

 

If he butts in, after all, he might just make things worse, considering his incompetence.

 

Naegi leans close to him before he goes, whispering, “I trust you, Komaeda-kun. Never forget.”

 

\--

 

And Komaeda rather break himself before breaking that trust.


End file.
